Tag: location

Definition of business location. What is proof of business address?

Proof of business location are documents provided that prove the physical address of a business. What can a business owner show as proof of business location or proof of business address? Learn which documents you can use to prove to prove the business address or business location, and how to get them.
Common problem: I can’t prove my business address or business location. Contact us or apply below today. We are experts and can easily show you how to prove business address and business location. You will learn what the easiest and fastest way is to show proof of business location for your business.
Examples of proof of business location and proof of business address.

A business owner applies for a small business loan and is approved.
Closing requirements almost always require the owner to provide documentation of proof of the address of the business, or location of the business. There are several options in showing proof of business address.

The business owner can submit any of the following because almost all are accepted.

Business rental lease agreement, or a copy of the business rental lease agreement.

Mortgage statement showing the business address. If the business purchased the real estate through a commercial real estate loan, then a current mortgage statement can be provided.

A current business license if the business address has stayed the same since
the business was established and the original business license was obtained. An option a sole proprietor can provide is a business license or a schedule C.

Articles of Incorporation or a partnership agreement that has the same address on it.

The most recent business tax return if the address is the same as the address of the business loan application and approval.

How to prove your business address and business location

Step 1: When making any request or application in the name of your business, review in advance what may be required to prove your business location or business address.

Step 2: Tip: Gather information you have on your business location and business address in advance. Have the items available or make a list to discuss.

Step 3: Do business with companies that will accept the proof of business address that you have, or can get.

Narrow down your list of businesses you will do business with to the ones that accept the proof of business location that you can provide.

Step 4: Make contact with funding programs and confirm your business address information will be enough.

Try to confirm ahead of time that the business address information will be satisfactory.

Step 5: Submit a request or application.

When satisfied you will meet the requirements, apply.

Step 6: If you receive an offer, first review the terms including the items required to prove the location and address of your business. If ready to complete an offer, submit the required items. Get final questions answered before closing. Finalize the transaction.

If you do not have, or cannot provide the types of documentation for proof of business location or business address, contact us below. We can guide you, and give you tips on how you can get proof of your business location.

You don’t have any proof of business location and don’t know what to do and how to get it?

Sometimes business owners cannot prove the address of a business that is required to close a business loan.
How to prove business location. Are there other ways? What is the lender asking for? There are other options in addition to the ones listed above.
If you cannot prove your business address now, review your options and fixes below:

How you can fix the following problem: “I can’t prove my business address and business location.”

Get an updated business license. Your city or county can reprint or resend a copy of your business license that shows the updated business address. If the city or county shows a previous and outdated business address, then provide the current address before requesting a reprint of the business license.

Review the address at the secretary of state to see the current business address and business location listed. If the current business address is wrong, contact the secretary of state and update the articles of incorporation to update and list your current address.

Remember: Evidence of your business address and business location is often required for small business loans. The person applying in the name of the company has to be able to prove where the business is located. This prevents mail correspondences from going to the wrong address and also helps prevent owners from making changes without the knowledge of the other owners.

F.A.Q., Frequently asked Questions:

The following are frequent requests and statements:

Question: How can I prove my business address? I don’t have proof of my business location and cannot provide it. What can I do?

Answer: Find and provide either a copy of the business lease, rental agreement, business utility bill, mortgage statement, business license or articles of incorporation.

Question: I’m having trouble getting proof of my business location. The lender will not accept my website as proof of business location. What should I do now?

Answer: If you are close to an approval, ask the lender for all the options they will accept to provide the location of your business. The lender may accept more for proof of business address than what they are saying. If you are still having trouble, contact us. We can provide information on you will need to get what are want – “Proof of my business location” and “proof of my business address”. You can apply with us for a small business loan. We have the expertise to best solve this problem.

Examples of what generally will not work for proof of address:

Virtual office address

P.O. Box: post office box

Address to a vacant lot

Raw land

Address to a physical location that does not have a building or structure on it

An out of state address. This happens when the business is located in one state but a business address to a different location or another location in another state is provided.

When the business address is in one state and the owners home address is in another state. This is referred to as an absentee owner or out of state owner.

There are exceptions to some out of state owner situations. If the business address is on the border of one state and the owner lives within a reasonable distance in a neighboring state. A business owner that lives less than 50 miles from their business is usually acceptable. Examples are a business that is listed in Kansas City, KS, and the owner lives in Missouri. Other examples are a business in Chicago, IL, and the owner’s home address is in northwest Indiana, less than 50 miles away.

New retail location – best way to judge foot traffic?

Many businesses, especially retail businesses, including franchises, spend significant amounts of time and money assessing what they can expect in terms of customer volume or customer foot traffic. Things such as government population block statistics, demographics, tax revenues, year to year growth, and other factors are considered, and may very well be critical.

However, in some retail situations, simply closely watching the foot traffic in a shopping center or district over a period of hours on many days and weeks, may be crucial information. If this is not done and is lacking in the decision making process as to where to locate, it can prove highly detrimental to the business.

A retail business may have found a shopping center or shopping mall for which the ownership can show strong sales for the center and mall overall. They may also be able to show strong income statistics on residents in the area. However, other details need to be looked at.

If the shopping center or mall is large and has a second and even a third floor, the actual customer foot traffic should be looked at real time over the course of hours and even weeks or months. What should be considered is:

Seasonality – Is the location or center seasonal, does it receive business seasonally, or is business steady throughout the year?

Sales of Largest Stores within Shopping Center – The center or mall may have strong sales overall, but maybe those are total overall sales statistics for the mall as a whole. Many shopping centers or malls have large anchor stores which may bring in a high percentage of the sales for one store, thus possibly skewing the statistics for the whole center.

Location of Store within Shopping Center – This can be the most important factor. A shopping center or district may have strong sales but depending upon the actual location of the store, sales may suffer if the location, even within a successful center or mall are strong.

If the location is in the back of the mall, in a corner, or around a corner, this fact can devastate sales. All it can take is for a store to be just a few doors down from the heaviest traffic area for it to make the difference between success or not.

Another factor is if a store has a higher floor locations, and if so, where on the higher floors is the store, and how is the layout. In many shopping districts and center, shoppers start out and often stay on the ground or main level and will not go to the trouble of getting to the higher levels.

This can be particularly true of 2 level shopping centers or malls for which many shoppers are using the stairs. Many shoppers will simply not use the stairs and will stay on the ground floor. Another difficulty is that of the percentage of the shoppers that do use the stairs, a significant percentage of those will shop a less extensive area of the stores than on the main level. They often will only go to the first several shops in the higher level. If a store in such a situation is on the 2nd level and far from the main stairs and elevator, this can have a major impact on sales.

As a result, the location of a retail store within a shopping center or mall must be carefully considered, both statistics wise and in person.